The present invention relates generally to baseball and softball bats. More particularly, the invention relates to a bat having a sleeve with slots.
It can be appreciated that numerous attempts have been made to improve the performance of a bat. These prior attempts have included the addition of various shells, inserts, materials, and shapes of the bat in order to improve its performance or usage. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,733,404, 6,497,631, 6,176,795, 6,022,282, 4,930,772, 4,331,330, and 3,990,699, and U.S. patent application Publication No. 2002/0016230 disclose various attempts to improve the performance or use of a bat.
The performance of a bat is generally based upon the weight of the bat, size of the bat, and the impact response of the bat at and during impact with a ball. Most of the focus for improvements in bat technology has been in improving the performance of the preferred impact area, or sweet spot. As the prior art bats have increased the performance in this area, many of the sports regulatory agencies have placed performance and/or configuration restrictions on the bats. These restrictions have mandated new innovations in the development of the bat technology.
For example, one regulatory body requires a maximum performance from a bat when impacted in the preferred impact area or sweet spot of the bat. Typically, this location is approximately six inches from the end of the bat. As such, the current maximum performance for the bat in its preferred hitting area is limited by these regulations. However, it is also to be understood that the area to either side of the sweet spot on a prior art bat has a significant drop off in performance.
The contemporary bat art has made few attempts to improve the performance of the bat sections adjacent the preferred impact area. As such, the performance of the bats in areas distal from, and even adjacent to, the sweet spot dramatically drops for the conventional bats. However, these attempts have drawback.
For example, U.S. patent application Publication 2004/0152545 discloses increasing the thickness over the sweet spot of the barrel in order to increase the leaf spring effect of the bat. However, this patent application publication fails to reduce the thickness of any wall within the bat in order to increase performance of the bat. As such, this patent application publication increases the weight of the bat in an attempt to increase the performance of the bat, which is counter productive. This patent application publication also increases the cost of the bat by increasing the amount of material used. Additionally, when there is a portion of a bat that has a change in diameter, that portion becomes a weakened spot. Additionally, the differences in spacing between portions of the body and of the frame can create weaknesses. Further, the differences in distance between the body and frame can cause manufacturing issues as to how to fill the variable distances and how to maintain the variable distances during construction of the bat. Further, this published application discloses placing slots in one end of the bat to reduce the diameter of that end of the insert to more easily place an insert into a bat frame but fails to understand the benefits of placing the slots in both end of the sleeve as to increasing the flexibility of the bat hitting portion beyond the center of the barrel. Further, the slots are not sufficient in length to increase the size of the sweet spot.
Thus, there is a continuing need for improved overall performance of bats. These improved bats need to conform to the regulatory agencies' restrictions in the preferred hitting zone while performing well beyond the preferred hitting zone. This needed bat should increase the stiffness in the preferred hitting zone as compared to the area(s) adjacent the preferred hitting zone. This needed bat must not have inconsistent spaces between the sleeve and the hitting portion. As such, what is needed is a bat that varies the stiffness of the wall of the bat in order to enhance performance of the bat.